By Jerry Jones, Certified Restorer (CR), Certified Mold Remediator (CMR)
This past March our Raleigh Business Center received a request to packout and process the contents of a 30,000 square foot home which had suffered a major fire loss. Ed Ennis, Operations Manager for the Raleigh Center, immediately contacted Mike Moore, AFTERDISASTER® Vice President directing the Large Loss Division, for assistance. The two groups worked together to respond to this very large loss.
The entire third floor of the home had been destroyed. Water damage from the extinguishing of the fire and subsequent rainfall was increasing rapidly to the lower levels. Ceilings were beginning to bow under the weight of collecting water raising safety concerns. Should a collapse occur, the contents would sustain even more damage. The weather forecast predicting additional heavy rains for the upcoming week increased potential problems.
As soon as a preliminary inventory of surviving contents was performed by agents of the homeowner, the emergency packout began. The AFTERDISASTER team included personnel from the Large Loss Division, the Raleigh Business Center, Greensboro Business Center, and the IAQ/Duct Cleaning Division. Clothing, furniture, and electronics were picked up for processing and storage by firms selected by the homeowner. Remaining appliances and boxed contents were transported to a local warehouse facility for processing and storage by the Large Loss Division.
The processing of the contents at the warehouse facility was quite intensive as conditions at the jobsite did not allow normally desired pre-cleaning and detailed inventory prior to the emergency packout. At the warehouse, the contents of each carton were carefully unpacked, inspected for damage, cleaned to remove soot and water residues, dried, reinventoried by box, photographed, re-packed in fresh packing materials, and then stored with the photograph of the carton contents attached to the outside of the carton for future reference. A copy of the inventory list of contents in each carton was sealed inside the carton and the original was given an identification number and attached to the Master Inventory List reflecting that identification number. Pre-existing damage and fire/water related damage was photographed and noted for future reference. Mental inventories may become vague and incorrect, requiring the written records for verification and accuracy.
The home will take up to two years to rebuild. All processed contents must survive a two year storage period. At any given point, the homeowner, the insurer, or AFTERDISASTER must be able to access any desired contents very quickly.
High marks for professionalism go to Mike Moore, Team Leader Todd Hall, Large Loss Division Marketer Ernest Andrews, and technician Daryl Williams for their excellent work on this job. Thanks also for team support provided by the Raleigh Business Center, the Greensboro Business Center, and the IAQ/Duct Cleaning Division.
For assistance, please call your local AFTERDISASTER® Business Center